National television fetes Aryan Gholami who ‘checked’ the dollar and ‘mated’ the oppression

A young Iranian chess player who refused to play against an Israeli in a recent international tournament has been hailed as a hero in Iranian media, and this week met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On January 5, 17-year-old Aryan Gholami forfeited his chance at winning a $10,000 prize when he ruled out playing against Israeli Ariel Erenberg at the Rilton Cup in Sweden.

Gholami told Swedish chess website Schack.se that he had no ill will towards the Israeli, but “if I were to play against an Israeli, it would have serious consequences for me.”

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